Step right up and enjoy the show

-Washington steppers a symphony of hands, feet in uplifting beat.

-Washington steppers a symphony of hands, feet in uplifting beat.

February 08, 2007|JIM MEENAN Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND If you are going to be a stepper, you really do have to watch your step. "You have to be in pretty good shape," said Washington High School step team captain Larry Turner II. "You have to be coordinated. You have to have a beat to your heart or else the thing is going to fall apart." Turner is one of 20 students who perform for the Washington team. The team makes public appearances, but most often can be seen at halftime of Washington basketball games. Other recent performances included a show at the St. Joseph County Public Library and at an Ancilla College basketball game. Regardless of the venue, stepping is not easy. The quick hand-and-foot movements key on a beat, be it from the music from a jam box or just the sound of the steps themselves. "If one person is not on it, everybody is messing up because everybody is listening for a specific sound," Turner said. Shanise Wilson, a four-year stepper at Washington and also a captain, says it has gotten easier over time, but it certainly wasn't at first. "It's not hard (now)," she said after the performance before about 100 people at the library on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "But when I first started it was hard because I had to remember the steps and which part went here and which part went there." Joyce White, the faculty adviser for the squad, says the step team has been around Washington for a while, but just picked up again in a strong fashion in 2000. She agrees it's not easy to get the constant pitter-patter of feet and hands in rhythm, let alone coordinated as a team. "Some days it takes two or three days to learn a routine," he said. "Some are not that bad." Students do find themselves challenged, she said. "Some people get angry and frustrated because they can't get it, but it's like I tell them -- you keep doing it and doing it and you will get it." Learning the value of discipline is certainly one of the byproducts of stepping. Practice started clear back in the fall and this time of year consists of three days a week of two hours after school. Respect also is learned, White said. But that's not all. "I learned that it's a lot of hard work," said Delvon Smith, a sophomore in his first year on the team. "It's a team and we've got to do everything together. "You can't show off or nothing like that. We all have to work together as a team." The team is gearing up for its upcoming annual battle with Riley for the annual Step Classic title, Turner said. Washington will be working at coming up with something new, Turner said. "You've got to be creative," he added.